Monday, September 22, 2014

Responsibility

Do you have one of those people in your life who just loves to talk? And I mean WAY too much? I do. Boy, that can be annoying! Especially when I want to get something done! At the worst possible moments his person just walks in and begins to talk, whether I want to or not. How do we politely get this person to stop talking and get back to what we're doing?

It's even annoying actually when this person who apparently needs to talk to survive, talks to someone else near me. Now, three people are being distracted instead of just two. Not only is the habitual talker keeping us from getting our stuff done but he/she is costing our company money by wasting everyone's time.

Boy, I tell you, the next time I have my performance review I'm going to tell my boss all about this guy . . . at least I was . . . until I read about Nehemiah this past week and discovered that I was the one in the wrong.

Taking care of our own responsibilities and not concerning ourselves with other people's character flaws is a lot like the Book of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem that I found myself reading this week. Each household was responsible for their own portion of the wall. They didn't concern themselves with their neighbor's portion of the construction, they just took care of their own business, then with a like mindedness and a commonality of purpose, all the temple walls got rebuilt.

When Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were in need of repair he was greatly distressed. How could he himself repair them? The answer is, he couldn't. But with God's help, he encouraged others to rebuild a small portion of the wall, right in their own front yards.

"28 Above the Horse Gate the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. After him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, repaired. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired opposite his chamber. 31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the Muster Gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner. 32 And between the upper chamber of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired." - Nehemiah 3:28-32

The entirety of the third chapter of Nehemiah is a a listing of all those who helped rebuild the walls, accomplishing together what they could not do individually.

Then I thought about my talker friend at work. He comes in at 3:30 in the morning each day so he can get his work done. And he doesn't really spend ALL day talking. Should I really be feeling that this guy is wasting time when his projects usually get finished on time despite his talking? And isn't it the responsibility of those being talked to to politely say, "I can't really talk now. I have to get my work done."

Then another Bible story came to mind.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.” - Matthew 20:1-16

There is a lot to learn in this life. Many of life's answers can be found right in the Bible. A good way to re-build our spiritual walls is by taking care of our responsibilities as Christians - worship, prayer, spending time in His Word, and serving others. We must examine our own "walls" and repair the cracks and gaps we may find before the whole wall comes tumbling down.

The wall of our faith gets attacked every day. Satan looks or gaps or a breaches our spiritual wall without stopping. How can we prepare for such an attack? Read, serve, worship and pray . . . and place your faith in Jesus Christ . . . the repairer of walls, the master builder . . . our intercessor